Every Christmas I try to make as many of the gifts we give as possible. And every year I am at a loss as to what to make for the men in my life. Men are just not easy to sew for. But this year I stumbled upon a tutorial by the Purl Bee for a men’s skinny necktie. Since all the men in my life are major tie wearers I was psyched!

When I was in college a group of students made a bunch of ties for our professor as a gift, and I remember it being a pain in the butt, however I really wanted to tackle this project one more time (the definition of insanity, anyone?) I had this vision of giving the Hubby this great woven textile necktie that he could wear with a casual look, (think cords, chambray button down and a cardigan.)

I found this pattern and tutorial a few months ago and I thought, why not give it a go? It turned out to be pretty easy. It was a LOT of hand sewing and took a fair amount of time, but not hard. There is a note in the tutorial about adding a few extra inches because the pattern makes a shorter tie. In retrospect, I should have added about 4″-5″ to my pattern so that it was a regular length, but I wanted to make the pattern as it is first and then see if I should make changes. Next time I make it I will add those inches.

The only other thing I would change with this pattern is that the “tail” is too fat. Haha! You know how ties are wider on one end and then tapper off so the tail is thinner than the part that is supposed to be seen? That is because when tied into a knot at the neck you don’t want your knot to be too thick. Also so that it doesn’t show from behind. This tie pattern is shaped so that it thins out in the middle and then widens back out again. My husband asked that I make this change before he wears it because the proportions of the knot to the tie are off.

I would absolutely recommend this pattern. I would say it’s more of a medium skill level, not for the beginning sewers and not for those who are uncomfortable with bias sewing. Although this is a good pattern if you are wanting to learn how to sew on the bias.

2 Comment on “Men’s Skinny Necktie – Tutorial Review”

I’m about to make this tie out of a thicker fabric than used in Purl Bee’s version. I saw that you used a thicker fabric too (wool) and was just wondering if you used the light fusible interfacing and the heavy sew-in interfacing as they do in the tutorial, or just one of them since your fabric is already thick.

Hi Raman!
I made the tie just as you said, with a lighter interfacing. I did use the heavy sew-in, but I don’t think it needed it. I’ve since made the pattern a few more times and haven’t used the sew-in at all. Good luck!